100 Themes in Manhattan (starring Emily S Jones and Yao Wang)
by Mocha-mono
Summary: 100 Themes Challenge with Fem!America x China! Now officially part of my new "Manhattan Stories" universe/human AU. Fluff all day, every day. Read and review, pretty please?
1. Chores

**((Hi, I'm back! So I didn't make a collection after all. **

**But now I actually am! I have suddenly fallen in love with the pairing China x Fem!America, because it's cute and looks awesome! (It's amazing how a single fanwork can make me ship something so hard.) So what better way to express love for this ship than do a 100 Themes with it?**

**I like to play China up as a Tsundere in this ship, like he has a huge crush on Fem!America but he sometimes he doesn't want to be in love with her so he acts exasperated by her actions a lot. ****China you softie**

**So, we have our first theme! Enjoy!))**

**1. Chores**

"Gotta hurry, aru…" Yao muttered to himself as swept the kitchen floor. It was finally starting to look clean.

It was Chores Day at the Wang household that morning. Yao always declared Thursday Chores Day, since that was usually the day when Emily came over.

Yao had met Emily at work a couple of years ago, when he had bumped into her on the way to get something to eat. She really perky and fast-paced, which threw him off at first, but after a while of hanging out, lunch breaks and random meetings, Yao started harboring a rather large crush on her. Not like she knew, of course.

So, every Thursday, he ended up working himself half to death to make sure everything was perfect for her, so that he could impress her. He was determined to make himself look like a good guy for her.

However, his plans got more-or-less cancelled when there was a knock on the door.

"Yao-Yao!" called a strong female voice. "You home? It's me, Emily!"

_Shoot! _Yao almost fell on his face when he bent down to grab the dustpan from his surprise. She was here? And so early?!

Yao quickly picked up the broom and the dustpan, emptied them, and tossed them into the corner. He almost ran to the door, took a deep breath and opened it. "H-hi, aru."

"Yao-Yao!" Emily threw her arms around him, giving him a friendly hug. "I finished work early today so I thought I'm come and see you! Hey, you okay?" She looked at his very red face.

Yao shook his head, as if it would get the color off his cheeks. "Uh...it's nothing, aru. Come on in, aru."

Emily gladly stepped in and flopped down on the sofa. "What have you done today? Anything cool?" Then she noticed the broom and dustpan in the corner and the numerous cleaning supplies on the counter. "Chores?"

"Well...yeah, aru," said Yao, scratching the back of his head. "I was doing them when you came, aru. But don't worry about it, I'll do them later-"

"How about I help you?" Emily offered suddenly, hopping up. "That way we can get done faster and then we can do something a lot more fun...like hitting that epic new arcade down the way!" Emily marched past him and grabbed the broom, sweeping like nobody's business.

"Uh...OK, aru," said Yao, kind of caught off guard. He grabbed the bottle of cleaner and a rag and started to clean the table while he watched Emily sweep. And by "sweep" I mean, "dance around, twirl the broom and use it as a microphone while somehow managing to get the job done."

Yao felt a little weirded out as Emily moved on from the broom to vacuum, and she raced around the room, pretending the vacuum was a race car. "Hey, Yao! Come do this with me! It's fun!"

"Uh, no thanks, aru," Yao said flatly, sweatdropping.

"Oh, come on!" Emily grabbed his hand and dragged him into the living room, putting his hands on the vacuum handle and pushing him around the room. "Vrooooooooom! Vrooooooom!"

"C-cut it out, aru!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

After the vacuuming was done, Yao stumbled to the couch. "Don't do that, aru…"

"You know it was fun!" said Emily, grinning boisterously. "Anything else we need to do?"

"Well, I need to tend to the garden, aru…"

"ON IT!"

"WAIT, ARU!" Too late. Emily was already making a beeline for the backyard garden. Yao stared after her, before burying his face into the pillow. Why did he like her again? "Freaking hot dog girl, aru…"

**Hetalia!**

One traumatizing garden shears session, Emily and Yao made it back to the sofa. "My God, that was tiring, aru…"

"But hey, at least it's done!" said Emily, smiling. Yao groaned. Emily looked at his big brown eyes and remarked, "You know, chores are actually kinda fun when I do them with you."

Yao looked up at her, eyes widened and face pink. "R-really, aru?"

"Well, yeah!" said Emily. "You're a lot of fun, ya know?" Then, she playfully glomped him, grinning wide.

Yao's face went bright red. "_Xiexie, _aru…"

**((OK, I'll be totally honest. This is a different version of the 100 Challenge because the last version I got made me write this terribly depressing and tragic oneshot where Ameriko and China are happy together but just before he's about to propose to her she dies and China is nearly crazy with heartbreak and I JUST COULDN'T BRING MYSELF TO POST IT. I FELT LIKE A HORRID PERSON FOR WRITING IT, UGH.**

**Still, I hoped I could make this fluffy and enjoyable, despite it being a straight pairing. Sorry.**

**Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed this oneshot. I tried. ^_^" Oh, and Hetalia isn't mine! (I forgot to put the disclaimer at the top today.)**

**Later!))**


	2. Happy

**((Theme #2 completed! Yes! I got a bit creative on this one, believe it or not. And I'm dead tired so the fact I got this done is a good thing.**

**Hetalia is Himapapa's. (Did you guys know about the new ****_Shonen Jump _****mangas Hetalia is going to get? Hetalia World Stars? OH MY ROME, IT'S THE BEST THING.))**

**2. Happy**

Emily trudged into the office that day, groggy after a long night of video games.

Emily worked at the ever-so-wonderful (read: stupid) Vargas Lmt. in New York. She had worked there for seven years (more out of a need for money than by choice) and so far, she hated every single second. Things had become a lot looser ever since her best friend Yao had taken a job there, but still.

Emily plopped down in her office and set to work, albeit having to wake herself up a couple times and having to fix numerous typos. She groaned to herself—another day of stupidity and tiredness, and she couldn't do anything to fix it except manage to keep herself close to her friends. She felt blessed to have friends.

"Miss Jones?" her secretary, Sakura, opened the door the pinch. "Um...Mr. Vargas would like to have a word with you."

"Oh...sure." Emily left to go to the top floor, filled with dread.

**Hetalia!**

"A paycheck cut," Emily growled to herself during her coffee break. "Stupid."

Honestly, it was days like this when Emily had no drive to be her usual sunny, always-adventurous self. It felt better to wallow in grumpiness while at work these days.

As she kept negatively thinking, she bumped into somebody, splashing her latte all over the other person. "Oh! Sorry, I...Yao?!"

Yao stood there, his own coffee in hand, drenched in caramel-flavored coffee drink. "Good morning, aru."

"Oh my God!" Emily gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "I'm so, so sorry! Ugh, what on earth is wrong with me this week?"

"D-don't worry about it, aru," Yao said, wringing his long wet hair dry. "You OK? You seem out of sorts, aru."

"Ugh," Emily tossed the now-empty coffee cup into a nearby trash can. "I've had a horrible week! I'm used to work being a bummer, but gee whiz, I'm on a roll with bad luck since Monday. I broke my toaster, forgot my Japanese class with Kiku, ran late, ruined my favorite suit, lost my Facebook password, got a cut on my paycheck and spilled coffee all over you. _And it's not even Thursday, for crying out loud!"_ She gave a rough kick to the copying machine.

"Merely some bad feng shui, aru," Yao said grimly. "As we'd say in China, that is. Nonetheless, I'm sorry you're so upset, aru."

Emily sighed. "Don't worry 'bout me, just go get cleaned up. I gotta...I gotta go back to my dumb job." And with that, she turned around and walked off.

Yao stared after her, feeling a knot in his stomach. What could he do?

**Hetalia!**

Emily was enthralled to go home after work. She threw open the door, stepped in, and immediately flopped onto the sofa. "Uggggggggh."

Suddenly, she noticed a note on the table. She picked it up.

All it said was:

_You need a_ _vacation. Call this number._

Emily raised an eyebrow. Was this some sort of prank? Eh, probably. But she was bored, so she picked up her cell phone and dialed the number. "Emily Jones."

"Hi, aru."

"Oh! Hey, Yao. What's with the stalker note?" She laughed.

Yao grit his teeth on the other end of the line. "Whatever. You need to stay away from work if it's causing you this much stress, aru. Stress is unhealthy, aru. So, I told your boss that you're taking a sick week."

Emily's jaw dropped. "Holy cheese. You _bailed me out of work?!"_

"The least I could do, aru. I just wanted to make you...happy, that's all, aru."

"OH MY GOD, YAO! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" Emily hung up and did a dance. No work for a whole week and it was all thanks to Yao. She flopped onto the sofa again and fell into a deep, happy sleep.

On the other end of the line, Yao hung up, suddenly very smiley and thoughtful.

**((Two full oneshots written and posted in one day! Good job, me.**

**Now it is time for bed. Good night, everyone~))**


	3. Life

**((#3 is here! I'm on a roll this week. **

**I'm really sorry if people are OOC, I don't mean to. (My story viewcount has been really down these days-I love to write humor but I can't erite crack all the time, people!) I'm not an expert on romance stories. **

**Hetalia isn't mine. ))**

**3.** **Life**

"Thanks for coming here with me, aru."

"Don't sweat it!"

Yao and Emily were currently laying on the grass in the nearby park, looking up at the vast blue sky.

"Nice day, huh?"

"I suppose, aru."

In all honesty, the sky was the last thing Yao was thinking about.

"I freaking love summer, but fall is really cool, too. Get it? _Cool?_ Hahahahahaha!"

Yao rolled his eyes at the terrible joke and sighed. "You're so weird, aru."

"But you love me for it, don't you?"

Yao jumped. She had him figured out all along? He turned to her, heart thumping and face cherry red. "I..."

Emily stared at him, slightly confused but good-humored. "I meant like a friend, silly! Geez, Yao, you've been super awkward lately!" She laughed.

Yao allowed himself to exhale. "Sorry, aru."

"Well, don't apologize!" Emily said brightly, turning on her side. "I still like you, don't I?" She casually took his hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

_Darn her, aru._ The color hadn't faded from his face and his heart was running like crazy. God, he wished she was better at taking hints.

He looked up at her, looking at her beautiful face. Her big blue eyes were like the sky above, a perfect match with a brown-blond hair. She had perfect skin and her smile was sweet but playful, making Yao think of how much she liked to laugh.

Love was so freaking complicated.

"Yao?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm really enjoying life right now."

Yao smiled slightly through his blush. "Me too, aru..."

**((FLUFF. FLUFF EVERYWHERE.**

**OK, so I hope this one was good! I'm working hard on getting back into the niche of writing Hetalia!**

**Review, please!**

**P.S. Has anybody gotten the news yet? Hetalia has been approved for a brand new series in Shonen Jump! THAT MEANS HETALIA UPDATES TWICE A WEEK! GOD BLESS HIMAPAPA! :D))**


	4. Relationships

**((I'm back with #4! The view rate has gone up, I'm so glad you're enjoying it!**

**In all honesty, I had no idea what to do with this one at first. My first idea was to have an episode where Fem!Canada comes to visit and she figures out China's crush or something similar. But in the end, I couldn't think of a way to flesh that idea out and ended up making this cute little oneshot. **

**Jazz music and autumn thoughts help you write~**

**Hetalia is not mine!))**

Once again, Yao questioned his sanity when it came to his crush on Emily.

That Saturday, Emily had dragged Yao out of bed at 9:00 (he usually liked to sleep till noon on Saturdays) and told him they were going to have some fun. Yao was barely awake to register the idea but now he was regretting it.

So here they were at the arcade, with Emily already carrying a bucket of tickets. "Hey! Let's go play air hockey! I'm the champion, though, so be warned!"

Yao gave her a look. "I thought you said your sister was the champion."

Emily laughed. "Dude, I said she was the champion of _Canada." _She grabbed his hand and yanked him along. "Come on!"

At the table, Emily took out the mini-puck disk. "Think you can beat me?"

Yao smirked. "Bring it on, aru!"

They played about ten rounds of continuous determination and rival-taunting before Yao finally admitted defeat. Emily laughed at his resigned expression.

After another five rounds of Taiko no Tatsujin, Emily wanted to go to the cafe and grab some coffee before heading somewhere else. Yao couldn't have been more relieved.

The two left the arcade and stepped into the crisp autumn air. "Ooh, brisk today!" Emily commented lightly as they walked down the rather quiet street.

As they walked, the pair began to admire the scenery of the day. The leaves were turning sunset colors and floating gracefully through the air, and the soft murmur of the chilly breeze blew by. Yao sighed-if only this were an actual date.

Finally, they reached the cafe. Emily pushed the door open and took a deep breath, smelling all the wonderful cafe smells. "Aahh~"

Yao stepped in with her, lost in his thoughts for a bit. Emily was already at the counter ordering, and she had to call him over in order to get him to snap out of it.

They took a seat next to the window, watching the beautiful autumn scene outside. Yao was still thoughtful, thinking wishfully of all the opportunities he could have this fall when it came to finally telling the truth to Emily. _Why do I have to be such a coward, aru? She's going to find out sooner or later! Maybe I should just-_

"Yao?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her and noticed that she must have asked him a question. "Uh…"

"You zoned out on me!" Emily giggled. "You're so silly. I was going to ask you if you had any Halloween plans this year." She smiled at him, curious.

Yao raised an eyebrow. "Uh...it's still September, aru."

"I know, but I wanna know!" Emily insisted. "It's fall now, after all. Come on, what are you going to do? Decorate? Trick or treat? I know I'm trick-or-treating this year. How about you?"

"Well…" Yao faltered, not knowing exactly how to answer. "I...don't really celebrate Halloween, aru. At least, I haven't done so before. In China, we have the Hungry Ghosts Festival, or _Yu Lan Jie, _but those are in August. Mostly people from Hong Kong celebrate Halloween, aru. But they're a bit more westernized."

Emily let this sink in. "You've never...celebrated Halloween before?"

Yao shook his head. "Nuh-uh."

Emily slammed her hands on the table, making Yao jump. "Well, we need to fix that!" she announced. "You're spending Halloween at my house, with me and Sakura and Kiku and Maddie! We're going to get you a costume and everything! And we are going to party and eat candy like November isn't even coming! Understand?"

Caught off guard by this sudden outburst, Yao nodded hastily.

Emily flopped back into her chair, smiling victoriously. Yao sighed.

"Good afternoon!"

"Oh! Hi, Feli! Hi, Kiku!" Emily waved cheerfully.

_Of course. _Feliciano and Kiku had always been friends of Emily's, with Kiku being her Japanese tutor and Feli just liked tagging along.

"Ve~ It's really chilly today, isn't it?" Feli commented in his usual dreamy way.

"It is very beautiful out, however," added Kiku, smiling ever-so-slightly.

"Say, what are you two doing here today?" Feli asked.

"We're just grabbing a snack," Emily answered, grinning. "We're going to head out a little later, though."

"We were going to take a trip to the mall, aru," added Yao, casually stirring his tea drink.

"It sounds like you two have been having a nice time together," Kiku said warmly.

"Yeah!" said Feli, grinning. "You guys are like a couple or something!"

That comment hit Yao like a brick. He started to babble. "What are you talking about, aru? We're not a couple, aru! Even if we were it's not like we'd make it really obvious or anythi-"

"He's joking, Yao-Yao," said Emily, giggling. "Your face is all red."

Yao wished he could just vanish into thin air.

But unfortunately, he could not.

**((CHINA YOU SOFTIE**

**Ah, so much fluff. So much freaking fluff. I luff it. **

**BTW, I did research for the part where China was talking about Halloween in his country. It's true-usually only the people of Hong Kong really do anything Halloween-related, while mainland Chinese people have the Ghost Festival. But, those take place around the same time the Japanese Bon festivals do so I guess we can't exactly call it a fall holiday. ^_^"**

**But hey, we have China's birthday, so there's that. **

**Review, please!))**


	5. Play

**((Today's update! #5!**

**OK...this one is kinda short because I couldn't come up with a lot for this one. Sorry. But it has gaming in it! That's good, right?**

**Super Smash Bros Brawl and Hetalia don't belong to me!))**

"Hey, Yao!" Emily called that Saturday evening. "I know the perfect way to decide what to eat tonight!"

Yao raised an eyebrow. "Uh...how?"

"Video games!" she answered boisterously. "We're going to play seven rounds of SSBB! Whoever wins the most gets to pick what we eat! OK?"

Yao could have suggested a better, more _normal _way of picking dinner, but she was so excited he found himself unable to say no. "OK, aru," he said, bringing up his determination, "Let's play!"

Two minutes later, the duo were seated on the sofa, controllers in hand.

"I pick Mario! He's a hero!" Emily announced proudly at the character select.

Yao picked his character without a second thought.

Emily stared at him. "Pikachu? _Really?"_

"He's cute, aru!" Yao protested, indignant.

"You're so weird sometimes."

"You should talk, aru."

The first round of play didn't even last five minutes. Yao (who, I might add, had become a master at Pokémon before Emily came into his life) had ended up pulverizing Mario with Pikachu.

Emily stared at the score with wide eyes as Yao turned to her with a smug smirk. She narrowed her eyes at him. "OK! So you wanna play speed, huh? I'll give YOU speed! I'm changing to Sonic, he's a hero, too!"

With two speed characters fighting each other, the next six rounds went by fast. Emily ended up kicking Yao's butt at four of the games as Yao was actually allowing her to win (it wasn't so much as being nice as it was that he'd never hear the end of it if she lost). Eventually they cleared the final round of play and Emily had declared victory.

"YES!" Emily cheered, throwing the controller into the air. "I WIN! THE HOT DOGS ARE ON ME!" She did a happy dance in the middle of room as Yao sweatdropped.

"You're so weird, aru."

**((Oh, Ameriko. You are adorkable. **

**OK, so this was more silliness than fluff. Next chapter will have FLUFF! TONS OF IT!**

**Anyway, stay tuned for next chapter! REVIEW~~!))**


	6. Toy

**((Here I am with today's update!**

**OK, here is the fluff I promised you. But before we get onto that, lemme explain a few things.**

**I have officially moved this collection in my "Manhattan Stories" series, which has genderbends and normal characters. All of this takes place in New York City.**

**Also, I changed Emily and Yao's workplace—it's the Vargas Talent Agency, with the CEO being Fem!Romano (Fem!Italy is a teacher in this). Russia, Finland, Lithuania and Fem!Greece work there too. **

**There will probably be more details as we go along, but onward with the story.**

**Hetalia is not mine!))**

Yao sat on the sofa, trying to gather his thoughts together.

He had done it. He had finally mustered the courage to buy a gift for Emily.

It was pretty simple—a stuffed panda with a green ribbon. While in retrospect he knew that it was more of a gift he would have picked for _himself,_ he knew Emily had an appreciation for the cute so he didn't have any second thoughts. Besides, he had been so intent on getting brave enough to buy anything for her that he didn't put too much thought into what the gift would actually be.

His heart began to thump at the thought of Emily's expression when he gave her the panda. She would take it, thank him, and smile that beautiful, wonderful smile of hers. She looked so cute when she smiled. Even cuter than the panda he was holding right now.

He had to bury his face into a pillow to keep from blushing any harder.

Unfortunately, however, he would have to wait a while. He had a different work schedule than her, so while he had a day off she would still be at work. In a way, though, it was best, for while he cursed the thought of stewing in anxiety for her coming it was better than giving her the gift at work. Where the creepy Russian guy Ivan would be watching. Yao shuddered.

He tried to think about something less worry-provoking when the doorbell rang.

"Yao!" said a voice. "The agency was kinda slow so I'm off early! You home?"

_That was quick!_ Yao thought to himself as he stashed the panda in a secret spot and got up to answer the door.

There she was, still in her work suit. "Hey, dude!" she said in her usual cheery way, "I thought I'd stop by by best buddy's house after work. How ya doin', Wang?"

"OK, aru," Yao answered, sweatdropping, "Come on in, aru."

She went in and took a seat on the couch. "My God. The office was so boring today! Nobody was really signing up for agents or anything. Ivan had nothing to do so he kept on bugging the crud out of me. Chiara was in a bad mood, too, although I think it's because she's frustrated about Antonio confessing to her last week, but—"

"Stop talking, aru!" Yao cried out suddenly, placing a finger on her lips.

She looked up at him, surprised and a little inquisitive.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "It's just that...well...I need you to be quiet...so...um...uh...I got this for you!" He hastily held out the stuffed toy, his face as red as a tomato.

Emily looked from him to the panda, a hint of confusion and then genuine surprise on her face. She accepted the present and observed it, blue eyes passing over the bear with question.

Finally, she said, "You got this for me?"

Yao nodded slowly, looking down at his feet.

She blinked once, twice. Then, she began to laugh.

Yao looked up, hopeful.

"Dude!" she chuckled, "You are just the sweetest thing ever! I love it!"

Yao sighed with relief. "I'm glad you like it, aru."

"I really do!" Emily exclaimed. "You know what? I'm gonna leave right now and go show this off to Alice. She's been such a stick in the mud lately. Thanks a lot, Yao!"

And then she hugged him.

She actually _hugged him._

Yao was seriously surprised that she couldn't feel his heart pounding. It was nice, tight, comforting hug that was making him feel twice as shy and nervous than he already was.

She released him, smiling her adorable smile. "Well, better go! See ya, Yao!" With that, she headed out.

Yao stood there in silence a moment. Then the silliest grin crossed his face.

_I must be awesome, aru._

**((China, you so silly. ^_^**

**Anyway, hoped you like this chapter! Have a nice day and stay tuned!**

**Review~))**


	7. Ocean

**((#7~~~!**

**OK, this theme is really loosely based, as it only takes place near the ocean, instead of the theme being focused directly on something to do with the ocean. I had to look up locations for this one, because the crew live in the Manhattan part of New York and since I don't live there I didn't know any areas. So...yeah.**

**This is less fluff and more reflection, if anything. Aw well!**

**Hetalia is not mine, and neither is New York!))**

"Thank you for coming out here with me, aru."

"Oh, it's no trouble."

Yao and Madeline were trekking along the edge of Turtle Bay Beach at about 7:00 that morning. It was going to be a rainy day; the sky was grayish slate color and the smell of rain was abundant. Yao had his hands stuffed in his coat pockets as Madeline took tiny sips from her mocha.

"Why are we here again?" Madeline asked a little shyly.

"We came here to chat as friends according to you, aru," Yao answered. "You said you wanted to know me a bit better, since your sister has been blabbing about me all week."

"Hehe," giggled Madeline. "I suppose I just forgot." She looked towards the papery sky. "It's very cloudy today, isn't it?"

"They said it would rain on TV, aru."

"I believe it."

"It _is_ October, aru."

Madeline fell silent. Yao looked over at her, taking in her similarities to Emily. Same blond hair, if not slightly more yellow, big eyes, a cute mouth. Everything else was quite different, but Yao could detect the family resemblance.

"You know, you really do look like your sister, aru," he commented lightly.

"I've heard that more times than you'd believe," Madeline said, laughing. She smiled warmly. "You really do love her, don't you?"

What. Yao's eyes went wide. "H-how did you even know, aru?! I've never told you!" His face was deep red even though the air was cold.

Madeline chuckled. "Don't be so startled. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

Double what. Yao facepalmed. Was he really all that obvious? He sighed. "See? Ever since I came to New York I've come across nothing but trouble, aru! I get a stupid job at a talent agency with a high-strung Italian woman, I get pestered and possibly stalked by a creepy Russian, get involved in a bunch of stupid love dodecahedrons that I want no part of and I end up falling for a stupid hot dog-loving Western girl who is too freaking oblivious to see I have feelings for her!"

"Well, don't say it like that," said Madeline. "Admit it. You love being here and meeting us. After all, Kiku and Yong Soo told us you felt lonely back in China."

"That's not _even_ true, aru!" Madeline gave him a look. "OK, maybe it was a _little_ true, aru. But still! My life has been _insane_ ever since I met all of you!"

"We're all crazy in our own special ways, Yao," Madeline said bluntly. "Even you, what with your being in touch with your feminine side and all that jazz. Besides, and I'm honest here, I think your crush on Emily is great."

"Wait a minute," said Yao, frozen at her words, "you actually approve of my crush on her, aru?"

"Of course!" Madeline said. "You're both so cute. Emily has always had guys after her, but she shows some special interest in you. Believe me, I see it."

Yao stared at her, unable to make a response.

"Come on, Yao," she said lightly, "Just try a little harder. If I know anything about my sister, it's that when you get her attention, you really have it. Use that attention and tell her. I honestly doubt she'd do something unsavory to you if you tried. She's a nice girl."

Yao let this sink in. The way Madeline was putting it, telling Emily he liked her—probably loved her—sounded as easy as eating cake. But still, it really wasn't, as Yao knew how freaking awkward he could be around people. He had been here for three months already and he wasn't even remotely used to America yet.

He sighed. "I see what you mean, aru. I do have to try harder, aru..."

"There ya go." Madeline smiled softly and patted his shoulder. "I believe in you."

"HEY!"

They both turned around. Coming up the beach were Emily, Alfred, and Kiku, the American siblings waving their arms to get the attention.

"Yo, guys! What are doing at the beach at like, 6 in the morning?"

"We've been looking for you all morning! There's gonna be a rainstorm at 9 and we wanted to hang out at Antonio's restaurant!"

Yao and Madeline looked at each other and laughed. "We better head out with them. Besides, the surf is kicking up. See?" She pointed to the churning waves of the bay, signaling the approach of hard weather.

Yao smiled. "It seems so, aru. Let's go."

Then the two walked over the excited Americans and (not-as-much-excited) Japanese man, ready for another day.

**((My God, that was a horrid ending. XD**

**Anyway, that's it for the moment! Review!))**


	8. Vunerable

**((OK, I have returned! This idea recently struck me!**

**Also, a little more background on the main storyline of "Manhattan":**

**Yes, some genderbends are siblings of their counterparts. If this were GerIta, I would say that Fem!Italy and Fem!Romano's brothers (Italy and Romano) were in Rome, managing their own businesses. Therefore, in this story, America and Canada are the older brothers of Fem!America and Fem!Canada.**

**There is also a Fem!China, and her backstory will be covered here. Prepare for a shock.**

**Hetalia isn't mine!))**

**8. Vunerable**

"It's a nice day, isn't it?"

"It really is, aru."

Emily and Yao decided to spend their rare day off at Turtle Bay, sitting on the beach and watching the waves. Yao was having a hard time staying awake, however. Nightmares had been plaguing him lately, making him relive a day he'd rather forget about.

Emily must have noticed, because she was staring at him curiously. "What's the matter, Yao-Yao?"

"Tired, aru," said Yao, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Nightmares last night."

"Nightmares?" Emily asked, suddenly concerned. "What about? You can tell me, I swear I won't tell anybody!"

"I'm not worrying about that," Yao said, smirking slightly at the random comment. "Uh...it's about something that happened back in China, aru." He sighed. Should he really tell her?

"In China, huh?" asked Emily, pondering. "Did something bad happen? Did it involve you or Kiku? Or maybe Yong Soo? Or Sakura? Or-"

"No, no, no, aru!" Yao interrupted, shaking his head frantically. "It was...my sister, aru…"

Emily's eyes went big. "You had a _sister?!"_ she shouted.

Yao drew back from the outburst, but nodded. "Yeah. Kinda."

"I didn't know you had a _sister!"_ She said "sister" like she was saying "a million dollars". "Where is she? Did you have a picture of her? OMG, let me see! Let me see!"

Yao sweatdropped. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and opened it up. "There she is, aru."

The girl in the picture was petite and very cute; she had ashy brown hair just like Yao, a big smile, and a red cheongsam. She was gladly holding a panda toy, smiling like there was no tomorrow. Emily grinned. "She's so cute! Where is she? Does she visit you?"

This was the part Yao was dreading. He sagged slightly. "No, aru. She's...somewhere else, aru."

"Really? Where?" asked Emily, not picking up the hint. "Does she, like, travel or something?"

"No," Yao shook his head slowly and sighed. "She's in heaven, aru."

"Heaven…?" Emily echoed, eyes widened. Realization set in, and she drew back, sorrow written on her face. "Oh my God, Yao...I...I'm so sorry…"

Yao shrugged. "It's alright, aru."

"Do you know how she died?" Emily asked, voice soft.

"She had heart disease," Yao explained. "She didn't have a lot of time, aru. She...she only was given two months to live when we heard. Kiku and I couldn't sleep for weeks." He had to resist the urge to start crying. "She was a really bright and happy girl, aru. She was the best sister you could ever ask for. She was always nice to people, even when Yong Soo bugged her all the time…" A lone tear slipped down his cheek.

Emily was frozen. She hadn't recalled seeing Yao really cry before. Worry overflowed her heart as she watched him try not to start bawling, as if he felt ashamed that he was about to cry in front of her. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Yao...Yao...stop..."

He sniffled.

The last time Emily felt so sorry for another person was when her brother Matthew's shop was nearly closed down. But that was fixed. Losing a sister couldn't be fixed like a bakery could. She felt tears spring into her own eyes. "Hey, Yao. Stop it. Because seeing you cry...is making me cry...and I don't want us to cry...OK?"

Yao looked up at her, and saw the anguished expression on her face. "Just...don't do it, OK?" She wiped her eyes with her sweater sleeve and looked up at the sky. "And you know, maybe she's not that far off. Maybe, like, she's up in that sky up there, watching you be sad, and she's sad because she knows you miss her." She looked at him, eyes big and questioning. "Don't you think she'd rather watch you be happy?"

Yao looked at Emily with astonishment. He hadn't ever heard her say such profound words since he met her. But he could tell they were completely genuine. He wiped his eyes and smiled slightly. "You're probably right, aru."

"See? You look so much better!" Emily said cheerily.

They were silent for a minute.

"Hey, Yao?"

"Hmm?"

"What was her name?"

Yao smiled. "Chun Yan, aru. Her name was Chun Yan."

Emily grinned. "A cute name for a cute girl."

Yao sighed, watching the churning waves against the baby blue sky.

_At least she can rest knowing I have Emily, aru._

**((Dawww. I'm glad I made a sad story turn out okay rather than that horrifically tragic oneshot I originally made for this collection. **

**Anyhow, I think I'll have more oneshots out later, I'm trying to think of good Nordic stories. I actually got an idea where the Nordics enter a rather Touhou-esque fantasy world and discover the power of family and friendship. (I'm the cheesiest writer in the world. XD)**

**Anyway, later!))**


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